663 research outputs found
Correlation Functions in -Deformed N=6 Supergravity
Gauged N=8 supergravity in four dimensions is now known to admit a
deformation characterized by a real parameter lying in the interval
. We analyse the fluctuations about its anti-de Sitter
vacuum, and show that the full N=8 supersymmetry can be maintained by the
boundary conditions only for . For non-vanishing , and
requiring that there be no propagating spin s>1 fields on the boundary, we show
that N=3 is the maximum degree of supersymmetry that can be preserved by the
boundary conditions. We then construct in detail the consistent truncation of
the N=8 theory to give -deformed SO(6) gauged N=6 supergravity, again
with in the range . We show that this theory
admits fully N=6 supersymmetry-preserving boundary conditions not only for
, but also for . These two theories are related by a
U(1) electric-magnetic duality. We observe that the only three-point functions
that depend on involve the coupling of an SO(6) gauge field with the
U(1) gauge field and a scalar or pseudo-scalar field. We compute these
correlation functions and compare them with those of the undeformed N=6 theory.
We find that the correlation functions in the theory
holographically correspond to amplitudes in the U(N)_k x U(N)_{-k} ABJM model
in which the U(1) Noether current is replaced by a dynamical U(1) gauge field.
We also show that the -deformed N=6 gauged supergravities can be
obtained via consistent reductions from the eleven-dimensional or
ten-dimensional type IIA supergravities.Comment: 38 pages, one figur
FRW and domain walls in higher spin gravity
We present exact solutions to Vasiliev's bosonic higher spin gravity
equations in four dimensions with positive and negative cosmological constant
that admit an interpretation in terms of domain walls, quasi-instantons and
Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) backgrounds. Their isometry algebras are
infinite dimensional higher-spin extensions of spacetime isometries generated
by six Killing vectors. The solutions presented are obtained by using a method
of holomorphic factorization in noncommutative twistor space and gauge
functions. In interpreting the solutions in terms of Fronsdal-type fields in
spacetime, a field-dependent higher spin transformation is required, which is
implemented at leading order. To this order, the scalar field solves
Klein-Gordon equation with conformal mass in (anti) de Sitter space. We
interpret the FRW solution with de Sitter asymptotics in the context of
inflationary cosmology and we expect that the domain wall and FRW solutions are
associated with spontaneously broken scaling symmetries in their holographic
description. We observe that the factorization method provides a convenient
framework for setting up a perturbation theory around the exact solutions, and
we propose that the nonlinear completion of particle excitations over FRW and
domain wall solutions requires black hole-like states.Comment: 63 page
Conformally invariant supersymmetric field theories on Sp × S1 and super p-branes
We construct supersymmetric field theories on Sp × S1 for p = 1,…,5. These spaces are the boundaries of the anti-de Sitter space in (p + 2)-dimensions. Thesetheories are invariant under the super extension of the anti-de Sitter group in (p + 2)-dimensions, whose bosonic subalgebra is SO(p + 1,2) asterisk in circle SO(N), for N = 1,2,4,8. The anti-de Sitter group SO(p + 1,2) acts as the conformal group on Sp × S1. We conjecture that these theories describe the super p-branes propagating in AdSp + 2 × SN−1. The internal space is always one of the parallelizable spheres, namely S1, S3 or S7
A note on positive energy of topologically massive gravity
I review how "classical SUGRA" embeddability establishes positive energy E
for D=3 topologically massive gravity (TMG), with or without a cosmological
term, a procedure familiar from D=4 Einstein gravity (GR). It also provides
explicit expressions for E. In contrast to GR, E is not manifestly positive,
due to the peculiar two-term nature of TMG.Comment: 7 page
An action principle for Vasiliev's four-dimensional higher-spin gravity
We provide Vasiliev's fully nonlinear equations of motion for bosonic gauge
fields in four spacetime dimensions with an action principle. We first extend
Vasiliev's original system with differential forms in degrees higher than one.
We then derive the resulting duality-extended equations of motion from a
variational principle based on a generalized Hamiltonian sigma-model action.
The generalized Hamiltonian contains two types of interaction freedoms: One set
of functions that appears in the Q-structure of the generalized curvatures of
the odd forms in the duality-extended system; and another set depending on the
Lagrange multipliers, encoding a generalized Poisson structure, i.e. a set of
polyvector fields of ranks two or higher in target space. We find that at least
one of the two sets of interaction-freedom functions must be linear in order to
ensure gauge invariance. We discuss consistent truncations to the minimal Type
A and B models (with only even spins), spectral flows on-shell and provide
boundary conditions on fields and gauge parameters that are compatible with the
variational principle and that make the duality-extended system equivalent, on
shell, to Vasiliev's original system.Comment: 37 pages. References added, corrected typo
Kundt spacetimes as solutions of topologically massive gravity
We obtain new solutions of topologically massive gravity. We find the general
Kundt solutions, which in three dimensions are spacetimes admitting an
expansion-free null geodesic congruence. The solutions are generically of
algebraic type II, but special cases are types III, N or D. Those of type D are
the known spacelike-squashed AdS_3 solutions, and of type N are the known AdS
pp-waves or new solutions. Those of types II and III are the first known
solutions of these algebraic types. We present explicitly the Kundt solutions
that are CSI spacetimes, for which all scalar polynomial curvature invariants
are constant, whereas for the general case we reduce the field equations to a
series of ordinary differential equations. The CSI solutions of types II and
III are deformations of spacelike-squashed AdS_3 and the round AdS_3,
respectively.Comment: 30 pages. This material has come from splitting v1 of arXiv:0906.3559
into 2 separate papers. v2: minor changes
BRST-antifield-treatment of metric-affine gravity
The metric-affine gauge theory of gravity provides a broad framework in which
gauge theories of gravity can be formulated. In this article we fit
metric-affine gravity into the covariant BRST--antifield formalism in order to
obtain gauge fixed quantum actions. As an example the gauge fixing of a general
two-dimensional model of metric-affine gravity is worked out explicitly. The
result is shown to contain the gauge fixed action of the bosonic string in
conformal gauge as a special case.Comment: 19 pages LATEX, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Massive higher spins and holography
We review recent progress towards the understanding of higher spin gauge
symmetry breaking in AdS space from a holographic vantage point. According to
the AdS/CFT correspondence, N=4 SYM theory at vanishing coupling constant
should be dual to a theory in AdS which exhibits higher spin gauge symmetry
enhancement. When the SYM coupling is non-zero, all but a handful of HS
currents are violated by anomalies, and correspondingly local higher spin
symmetry in the bulk gets spontaneously broken. In agreement with previous
results and holographic expectations, we find that, barring one notable
exception (spin 1 eating spin 0), the Goldstone modes responsible for HS
symmetry breaking in AdS have non-vanishing mass even in the limit in which the
gauge symmetry is restored. We show that spontaneous breaking a' la
Stueckelberg implies that the mass of the relevant spin s'=s-1 Goldstone field
is exactly the one predicted by the correspondence.Comment: 8 pages, talk presented by M.B. at the "Fourth Meeting on Constrained
Dynamics and Quantum gravity" held in Cala Gonone (Sardinia, Italy),
September 12-16, 200
Variant N=(1,1) Supergravity and (Minkowski)_4 x S^2 Vacua
We construct the fermionic sector and supersymmetry transformation rules of a
variant N=(1,1) supergravity theory obtained by generalized Kaluza-Klein
reduction from seven dimensions. We show that this model admits both
(Minkowski)_4 x S^2 and (Minkowski)_3 x S^3 vacua. We perform a consistent
Kaluza-Klein reduction on S^2 and obtain D=4, N=2 supergravity coupled to a
vector multiplet, which can be consistently truncated to give rise to D=4, N=1
supergravity with a chiral multiplet.Comment: Latex, 17 pages. Version appearing in Classical and Quantum Gravit
(2,0) Chern-Simons Supergravity Plus Matter Near the Boundary of AdS_3
We examine the boundary behaviour of the gauged N=(2,0) supergravity in D=3
coupled to an arbitrary number of scalar supermultiplets which parametrize a
Kahler manifold. In addition to the gravitational coupling constant, the model
depends on two parameters, namely the cosmological constant and the size of the
Kahler manifold. It is shown that regular and irregular boundary conditions can
be imposed on the matter fields depending on the size of the sigma model
manifold. It is also shown that the super AdS transformations in the bulk
produce the transformations of the N=(2,0) conformal supergravity and scalar
multiplets on the boundary, containing fields with nonvanishing Weyl weights
determined by the ratio of the sigma model and the gravitational coupling
constants. Various types of (2,0) superconformal multiplets are found on the
boundary and in one case the superconformal symmetry is shown to be realized in
an unconventional way.Comment: 28 pages, latex, references adde
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